August 2005 Steve Alten Newsletter
August Update
Dear Readers:
They say TRUTH is stranger than FICTION. With that in mind, here’s the August update:

Companion book for The LOCH

THE LOCH is in bookstores in the U.S. and available overseas and in Canada from Amazon.com As you may know, I spent two years researching the Loch Ness monster, separating the science from the myth so that my fictional thriller would be as accurate as possible. Nessie forensics investigator Bill McDonald played an important role in helping identify the “real” creature and now he has put together a companion e-book for THE LOCH, dealing with the latest discoveries that have caused so much controversy over the last six months. You can download a copy at www.TheLoch.com.
Purchase The Science Behind The LOCH...
The Loch Ness Monster skull: Coming soon?

As I reported (and many newspapers covered) in March, two college students and a Loch Ness local allegedly discovered a 4-inch tooth in the carcass of a half-eaten deer along a shoreline known to locals as a “KILL ZONE.” I’ve been conducting an informal poll of cryptozoologists, marine biologists, and museum curators to determine if the tooth really is a tooth and if so, from what species. The results are mixed. Some (like Loren Coleman, the world’s #1 cryprozoologist) believe it’s the tip of a deer antler, while others concur it is a tooth. The majority of those who felt it was a tooth agreed it could very well be from the species woven into THE LOCH!
Hey...who am I to argue?

So my publisher, TSUNAMI BOOKS, has hired a studio to scale a replica skull of said species to the photos of the tooth that appear on www.LochNessTooth.com I will be bringing this FIVE FOOT skull when complete to New York in late September to see if we can use it to garner publicity for THE LOCH. Am I exploiting this whole tooth controversy for my own gain? Hell, yes! It sure beats dressing up at Book Expo in a kilt. (Though it was quite comfortable).

Loch Ness Tooth
The New MEG Novel

I’ve been getting a lot of e-mail about the re-release of MEG, which will be in an all-new expanded and edited edition. I had hoped to get the book into bookstores in July, but I kept re-editing, wanting to make sure I got it right. Here’s the revised info:
DUE DATE: September 2005
PUBLISHER: Tsunami Books
ISBN: 0-9761659-1-0

The book will be a paperback release only. The original First Edition Collector’s hardback of MEG has been unavailable for 5 years now, and there were 185,000 printed of that First Edition. When the MEG movie comes out, we’ll print about a half million copies of this new paperback, but for September, TSUNAMI BOOKS will only print 10,000 First Edition copies of this new release, making it a rare collector’s item. Retail Price: $7.99

MEG MOVIE UPDATE:

Many of you have asked me about the casting for MEG. It’s still early in the process as screenwriter Shane Salerno continues to burn the midnight oil developing an action-packed script. Once he’s done and MEG is officially greenlit, we’ll know more about the cast.

Will yours truly pull a Peter Benchley and make a cameo?

Only if I get to wear my kilt.

MEG 4; HELL’S AQUARIUM

Yes, there will be one more MEG book. When will it be released? Maybe Summer 200. Why the delay? I’m MEGged out right now, and I won’t write a sequel unless I know it will be better than the last book in the series.

Hell’s Aquarium will be THE TRENCH on steroids. It will feature Maren’s nightmares foreshadowed in MEG; Primal Waters, and much more. And yes, a major character will die a bloody death. (Geez, now I’m sounding like freakin’ J.K. Rowling...)

But first comes...

Novel #8: The SHELL GAME:

The SHELL GAME is a story I’ve been plotting for a few years and deals with real events that could lead to the end of civilization as we know it. I feel compelled to write it now as a warning.

What is The SHELL GAME about? Read the free excerpt in the back of The LOCH!

That’s all for now. Remember, only fans who receive this newsletter receive access to these exclusives, so tell family and friends. Order THE LOCH, please spread the word, but most of all, know that I appreciate you. I close with a letter sent from a fan who may have actually had a real MEG SIGHTING (see below).

Steve Alten Ed.D.

Mr. Alten,

I would love to let you know about a particular shark fin sighting I had when I was in the Navy. It was during my stint aboard a US Navy destroyer stationed out of Norfolk, Virginia. Between 2001 and 2002 I was underway many times, including one time we were off the coast of North/South Carolina, and had shut all our engines off to coast with the current. This is not entirely standard practice, but then again, our Commanding Officer was anything but typical. I was out on deck helping paint one of our bulkheads, even though this sounds odd for a rated Petty Officer. We took a few minutes rest, and I looked out over the ocean, one of my favorite things to do. It was then I noticed a large shark fin sticking out of the water. I knew this wasn't unusual, but it was the sheer size that spooked me. Having read your first book, and growing up fairly obsessed with sharks, as well as having a geologist/biologist for a older brother, I knew about fins and the sharks they would belong to. This particular fin would have belonged to a Great White, not entirely uncommon in the south-east, but rare enough to comment on. The water out that far is very cold, just like Whites seem to enjoy. But this fin was roughly 100-150 feet from the ship, and was still massive. It stuck a good three or four feet out of the water, and disappeared into the depths. Whatever it was, it was so huge that I did not even see the tail fin, as one usually would if the shark were average sized and that close to the surface. I know this because I remembered from boot camp that to determine the length of the shark you match the length from the dorsal to tail fin, add roughly 1/3 and that is the length of the shark. But this beast wasn't close enough to the surface to see the tail fin, or even the bottom of the fin! I could tell it was so huge because you slowly adapt to time at sea and can guestimate a size of things. My friends and I figured the beast would be roughly 70-100 feet long based upon what we were seeing. Apparently the bridge saw the fin as well and we started our engines a few seconds later. It was then I saw the tail fin, nearly 40-50 feet away from the dorsal, flick, and the fin vanished into the deep. It was amazing, and terrifying. I became a believer at that moment that the Meg still exists, and is out there, but doesn't usually come to the surface, or is driven away by the massive metal hulls of ships that are that far out to sea. Not to mention being on a 500+ foot long destroyer with two massive propellers putting out thousands of horse power would scare anything. I talked to a chief about what I saw later and he said that stuff like that is pretty common on ships that are running on all stop, but that the stuff seems to think we are too huge and dangerous to attack when we're running our engines. Perhaps, he thought, that's why we don't hear stories of kraken or other sea monsters attacking ships anymore. We don't sound like wounded animals or whales when we're bashing through the waves instead of being pummeled by them. Not to mention the fact that we would be very confusing since Navy ships go through "De-perming" every once in a while to eliminate the ships magnetic field. We would seem to be totally inedible, and very shocking to any animal out there. We'd rarely even see dolphins playing in our bow-wake. I'd love to hear what you think. By the way, love the books, and I got my wife to start the Meg series. She loves it and can't wait for the movie!

Mike W. (name withheld by S.A.)
Former Cryptological Technician, (Maintenance)
Petty Officer Third Class
United States Navy
2000-2004